Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Meta are teaming up with a nonprofit investor to accelerate new technologies using data centers as test cases. Why it matters: The initiative, led by Elemental Impact, is among the clearest attempts yet to turn the massive buildout of AI infrastructure into a proving ground for new technologies rather than just a new source of emissions. Those technologies include advanced cooling, energy storage and low-carbon building materials. "We see data centers as really important customers for entrepreneurs to commercialize technologies that we've been working on for a long time," said Dawn Lippert, CEO and founder of Elemental Impact, the nonprofit investment firm spearheading the initiative. The big picture: The AI boom is driving a historic surge in electricity demand, increasing fossil fuel use and putting climate goals — including those of major tech companies — on the back burner.…